As we traveled to the village it became more and more evident that this was the dry season. There was a heavy haze, blocking the beautiful view of the mountains that I had been looking forward to, a clear result of the still common practice of slash-and-burn agriculture. But we soon discovered that was not the only air pollution; before we left the paved roads our driver suggested we close our windows. In front of us the previously lush green vegetation was now covered in the brownish-red dirt which provides a false hope of a tan. During the dry season the roads are kicked around, spewing a layer of dirt over everything. This presented a stark contrast to the muddy roads that we slipped on in the rain. However, some things have not changed: the people are still so wonderful and the climate is great. Regardless, some people in the outlying areas of Bakang still lack access to safe, potable water for drinking and cooking.

One thing I was excited to see was the maintenance of the solar pilot system. As we approached the system we noticed fences around the tanks and the PV array. After we left, the community erected fences around the key components of the system to protect it from children and animals. Also, each of the spouts on the tanks came off at different times through the year and the community fixed them, much sturdier than we had left them. The community clearly appreciates their new water system and the people are excited to help with any construction for future phases of installation.

This is not an assumption that we can make without hesitation. As the dirt stains our clothing, so is the landscape stained with failed projects, from Scan Water to some building projects that lacked funding, which now lay in ruin. I am certain that this project is sustainable since we are working with the community and they are taking charge. Throughout the country people have heard about our project and are abuzz about reproducing our efforts elsewhere. Public officials, technical people and people from other villages have heard about or seen the water pump in Bakang and the slow sand filters. They are all excited to talk to us and hear from us.

That’s all for now, I need a shower and to get some sleep, busy day tomorrow.

-Andrew

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. - Sir Winston Churchill

EWB Team has made it to Bakang!!

I just got a call from Dr. Steve saying that the EWB travel team has made it to Bakang!  They are sitting down to have a nice dinner at the 7-11 restaurant.  As Dr. Steve explained in a blog post from the June trip, the 7-11 in Bamendjou is not the same as a 7-11 in the U.S.  It is the only restaurant in Bamendjou, and it consists of a single room with a few wooden tables and some white plastic chairs.  They serve some very tasty Cameroonian food!

It sounds like everything is going smoothly.  I'm sure they will update on their progress in more detail in the days to come assuming they are able to access the internet.

Way to go team!

-Sam

In Yaoundé

Our crew's in the capital city now, and our new team members waking to the chaos of Yaoundé outside the hotel window. No problem getting the mold and all out tools & materials through customs because Mr. Mukam was awaiting us. And he had time to assure these things because our flight was delayed leaving Paris while they figured out what to do with an unruly passenger - evidently an illegal Cameroonian in France being returned to Douala, but shouting loudly to annoy the passengers, who then insisted he be removed. So that guy is still in Paris, and we are here! Busy day ahead.
By the way, the toilet in my hotel room has a slow leak so it wastes water. I was going to write a few paragraphs on whether toilets are a sustainable technology, and if so, under what conditions - but I'll save it for an essay question in the course next semester.

FOURTH TRIP - Here we go! - Dr. Steve

Hey, just reporting our luck with baggage check! No extra charges for the steel filter mold, which weighed in at 69 lbs (the cutoff is 70) - great design calculations! And they seemed to give us some leeway on the combined weight per passenger, too. So we're under budget and in the middle of a 3.5 hour wait for the flight (yeah, how did the group get Dr. Steve here so early? I think I was tricked somehow...)
We'll report in from Yaoundé if the internet works!

Other notes

Just an update to the itinerary for those who want to follow the team's progress on getting home: the flight number is AF 366, which should arrive at 3:35pm to Terminal A. Their cell phones will work at the gate but of course they'll have to go through customs first. But then, excitement! Can't wait to hear from these guys in person, sounds like it was a pretty awesome trip.

--Melissa

A final entry from Dr. Steve

I mentioned a few days ago that everything seems uphill here. One such Sisyphean effort is the battle against the reddish brown dirt and dust that blow and stick everywhere. Of course, it’s part of the fertile soil that supports the corn, beans, and potatoes grown here, but the dust, in particular, gives you a reddish collar, cuffs, and fingerprint within a short time outdoors. You can avoid having a brown tinge by frequent change of clothes, but when it rains, everything turns to a colorful mud that cannot be defeated. The mud adheres to shoes and gets tracked everywhere. Everyone takes off their shoes when going indoors, but this process seems to get mud on the bottom of your socks, too. Futility.

I am particularly aware of this as I now write, because we didn’t make it to Yaoundé in time to get our baggage yesterday. So all of us have been in the same change of clothes for 48 hours. My blue jeans are an interesting mix of tints from blue to dark brown that, frankly, looks very unprofessional. Note to parents: because these colors come from the ferric iron content of the soil, a laundry additive intended to remove iron stains *may* be successful in treating the clothes you will soon be staring at with some consternation. Bleach is less likely to work. The best solution may be to pack the clothes away until you go back to the High Plateau again.

So we're done and packing up. I have learned from my previous trips to Cameroon that I can adjust fairly quickly to the third world disorder and standard of living, as well as the dirt, and at least for a couple weeks at a time. But strangely, I have more difficulty coming back the States. It’s hard to shake the sensory intensity of this place. Whatever I mean by “sensory intensity” is hard to explain, but it sure stays with you. The city noises and air pollution, the lush green above the red dirt, the make-do and can-do mentality, the coconut, banana, and many other tropical trees that I need to learn names for. The friendly faces, the continuous foot traffic on urban dirt roads, everything carried on peoples' heads, the dirty water carried home to use. And so many other things.

….Tuesday!! We had no internet in Bamendjou or Yaoundé and we are now in Paris, on our way home. Our projects ended up pretty successfully, but it’s important to understand that this is only the beginning. Our solar cells submersible pump will provide water for a significant fraction of the people in Bakang, but not the ones at higher elevations or further distances – probably two thirds of the population. To get them water means more wells – a tough proposition. We have our next project ahead of us, and look forward to the challenge.

And we’re also looking forward to being home!! See you soon!!

Friday by Dr. Steve

Hey, all you folks supporting us should know how *great* it feels when we read your comments. It reminds us that we represent more than just a few students and their advisor while we are here. I think we’ve done a good job so far, because our projects are really reaching fruition. The solar panels do a great job with the pump, even bringing water to the tanks when it’s cloudy. The folks in Bakang put concrete in two more filter molds today, and helped us sieve the sand to put in them. We had a good crowd involved, and I got to ride in a truly massive masonry truck carrying one of our completed filter boxes from the mission to the chief’s quarters (the “chefferie”) in Bakang. We had visitors watch all of this, too – Dr. Nkeng and a student, Valentine, came from the College of Public Works in Yaoundé (about a five-hour drive) because Valentine is going to do research on the filtration process, and now they see the context for his work. We talked his specific problems with the sand properties and getting the right balance between ease of sand preparation, cost of the sand, Peter Njodzeka from the Life and Water Development Group, also in Yaoundé.
Saturday – we’ve finished just about everything, and shipped most of our baggage to Yaoundé so that we can all fit in our vehicle, still tightly packed because we want to bring back some handicrafts to give to our supporting patrons! We feel great!
We’ll post again –
Dr. Steve